The Salvia divinorum Research and Information Center - Shroomery

Saturday, November 4, 2000 Salvia divinorum User's Guide. Page: 6
The most important job is to keep the tripper, and others who may be present, safe. This comes before all else. The main danger is accidental injury. Your job is to be
a gentle guardian. Be as unobtrusive as possible, but remain alert incase the tripper should suddenly start moving about recklessly. Do not use physical force unless
nothing else will do. Use of physical force may result in the tripper or you getting hurt. It could be misinterpreted as an assault. NEVER LET SALVIA BE USED
WHERE FIREARMS, KNIVES, OR OTHER DANGEROUS OBJECTS ARE PRESENT. Take the tripper's car keys for safe keeping before the trip starts. Keep
the tripper safe from falls, head banging, sharp objects, walking into walls, walking into furniture, walking through windows, wandering out into the street or other
public areas, open flames, hot surfaces, and breakable objects. But let the tripper move about in a safe area. Do not grab or try to physically restrain him/her, unless
absolutely necessary. Redirect. Speak softly. Gently take dangerous objects away. Use the minimum touching necessary (the confused tripper may think your
touching is an assault or rape and react to the imagined danger). You may have to handle unexpected intrusions of strangers and other awkward social situations.
The second job of the sitter is to reassure. Often, simple repeated explanations may help a frightened tripper, e.g. "You're safe, I won't let anything harm you." "You're
just having a bad trip, you'll feel better in a few minutes." "Your name is........." I'm your friend ........" If speech is not called for, be silent. Silence is often less
threatening to the confused tripper than trying to decipher what a sitter is saying.
The third job of the sitter is to help the tripper later recall the trip. There are several ways. Use a notebook and record all the tripper's odd doings and sayings. Later
you can ask about these. This may help jog the person's memory about what was experienced. Another technique, if the tripper is not too far gone to talk during the
trip, is to ask repeatedly "what are you experiencing now?" A notebook, or a tape recorder, can be used to record responses. Since some trippers will prefer that you
remain silent and don't record, clear it with the tripper in advance.
COMMON SENSE GUIDELINES
NEVER USE SALVIA IF GUNS, KNIVES, OR OTHER DANGEROUS OBJECTS ARE WITHIN EASY REACH.
NEVER DRIVE WHEN TAKING SALVIA.
Choose the time and place of your trip carefully. Privacy and safety are essential. Be very careful about heights, and open flames such as candles. Do not take
Salvia when you may be interrupted by phone calls, visits, pets, children, etc. Turn off your telephone and set your answering machine to silently record
incoming calls. You can return the calls in a couple of hours once you are sober.
Give careful thought to how much you will take, and how you take it.
After all smoking material is safely out, lie down in bed, on a couch, or on a carpet. You are much safer lying down than you would be stumbling around. Stay
put for the rest of the trip. You can trip best with your eyes closed.
Have a sitter (this is especially important if you are new to Salvia, taking a high dose, smoking extract, or using a very strong delivery system such as
vaporization).
Volunteer to be a sitter for others.
If you have mental health problems, don't take Salvia without first discussing it with your therapist, or doctor.
Practice and encourage responsible use. don't give Salvia to minors, or to violent or unstable people. don't share it with strangers. Know who you are giving it
to and know why they want to use it. Why ask for trouble?
Never take Salvia while at work or in public. Keep it private. It's not for concerts. It is not for raves. It's not for large noisy parties. Better to use it in a quiet
safe private place in the company of a few good friends.
Mixing Salvia with other drugs or large amounts of alcohol may cause out-of-control behavior, or terrifying trips. While experienced Salvia users have
experimented with combinations, these are not for Salvia beginners, and are certainly riskier than just using Salvia by itself. While there are no known toxic
drug-drug interactions between Salvia and anything else, this has not been studied scientifically.
Be extra careful of flames (candles, lighters, fire, etc.) when using Salvia.
Be very careful about using vaporized extracts, vaporized leaves, or smoking extract enhanced leaves. These require a sitter to be present. Chewing quid or
smoking leaves is much less likely to produce out-of-control behavior than these are.
Never use pure salvinorin unless the dose you are taking has been weighed with an ultra-accurate balance that can weigh out doses in micrograms, and you
know exactly how much you can safely take. Even if you do meet these requirements, you still should have a sitter present.
THE PLANT AND ITS CARE
If you will be growing your own Salvia, you should read this. If you will not be growing your own, you may wish to skip this section.
Salvia divinorum is a semi-tropical perennial. That means that it can grow year after year, but only if it is not exposed to freezing temperatures. It is a green plant
with large leaves and a distinctive thick, hollow, square green stem. It can grow several meters (yards) high if conditions are favorable. When it grows high enough, the
branches will bend, or break, and may root if they come in contact with moist earth. Although Salvia divinorum can flower under natural lighting conditions, it almost
never sets seed that will sprout. So the plant is almost always propagated by cuttings. The leaves are oval, weakly notched (serrated) and can be quite large (up to 9
inches in length). They are usually emerald green, but under some conditions, may be yellow-green or even yellow. They are covered with a fine coating of extremely
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